Colonel /ˈkɜrnəl/, abbreviated Col, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally captain. In air forces with a separate rank structure, the equivalent rank is generally group captain. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures. A colonel is typically in charge of a regiment in an army.

'Colonel' is usually the highest or second-highest field rank, and is below the general ranks.

History and origins[link]

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With the shift from primarily mercenary to primarily national armies in the course of the seventeenth century, a colonel (normally a member of the aristocracy) became a holder (German Inhaber) or proprietor of a military contract with a sovereign. The colonel purchased the regimental contract — the right to hold the regiment — from the previous holder of that right or directly from the sovereign when a new regiment was formed or an incumbent was killed.^{[citation needed]}

The rank of colonel was popularized by the Spanish tercios in the 16th and 17th centuries. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, nicknamed 'the Great Captain', divided his armies in 'cornelias' or colonelcies, each led by a 'coronel' or colonel. ^[1] The use of 'colonel' became more widespread as the tercios led by commanders of many nationalities fought all over Europe.

As the office of colonel became an established practice, the colonel became the senior captain in a group of companies which were all sworn to observe his personal authority — to be ruled or regimented by him. This regiment, or governance, was to some extent embodied in a contract and set of written rules, also referred to as the colonel's regiment or standing regulation(s). By extension, the group of companies subject to a colonel's regiment (in the foregoing sense) came to be referred to as his regiment (in the modern sense) as well.

In French usage of this period the senior colonel in the army or, in a field force, the senior military contractor, was the colonel general and, in the absence of the sovereign or his designate, the colonel general might serve as the commander of a force. The position, however, was primarily contractual and it became progressively more of a functionless sinecure. (The head of a single regiment or demi brigade would be called a 'mestre de camp' or, after the Revolution, a 'chef de brigade'.)

By the late 19th century, colonel was a professional military rank though still held typically by an officer in command of a regiment or equivalent unit. Along with other ranks it has become progressively more a matter of ranked duties, qualifications and experience and of corresponding titles and pay scale than of functional office in a particular organization.

As European military influence expanded throughout the world, the rank of colonel became adopted by nearly every nation under a variety of names.

With the rise of communism, some of the large communist militaries saw fit to expand the colonel rank into several grades, resulting in the unique senior colonel rank which was found and is still used in such nations as China and North Korea.

Colonel-in-chief[link]

In many modern armies the 'regiment' has more importance as a ceremonial unit or a focus of members' loyalty than as an actual battle formation. Troops tend to be deployed in 'battalions' (commanded by a lieutenant colonel) as a more convenient size of military unit and, as such, colonels have tended to have a higher profile in specialist and command roles than as actual commanders of regiments. However, in Commonwealth armies the position of the colonel as the figurehead of a regiment is maintained in the honorary role of colonel-in-chief, usually held by a member of the royal family,^[2] the nobility, or a retired senior military officer. The colonel-in-chief wears a colonel's uniform and encourages the members of the regiment, but takes no active part in the actual command structure or in any operational duties.^[3]

Colonel and equivalent ranks by country[link]

Colonel in individual military forces[link]

The following articles deal with the rank of colonel as it is used in various national militaries.

• Kolonel (Belgium, Estonia & Netherlands)
• Colonel (Canada)
• Colonel (India)
• Colonel (Pakistan)
• Colonel (United Kingdom)
• Colonel (United States)

Central and Eastern European equivalent ranks[link]

Since the 16th century, the rank of regimental commander was adopted by several Central and Eastern European armies, most notably the forces of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Cossacks and then Muscovy. In countries with slavic languages, the exact name of the rank maintains a variety of spellings, all descendant from the Old Slavonic^{[disambiguation needed ]} word plk or polk meaning unit of standing army (see The Tale of Igor's Campaign), and include the following:

• Plukovník (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
• Pułkownik (Poland)
• Pulkininkas (Lithuania)
• Polkovnik (Russia, Slovenia, Bulgaria)
• Polkovnyk (Ukraine)
• Pukovnik (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia)

The Hungarian equivalent ezredes literally means 'leader of a thousand' (i.e. of a regiment)

Western European equivalent ranks[link]

• Oberst (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway)
• Överste (Sweden)
• Ofursti (Iceland)
• Eversti/Överste (Finland)

Other national equivalent ranks[link]

•  Afghanistan Dagarwal (دګروال)
•  Albania Kolonel
•  Armenia — Gndapet (գնդապետ)
•  Georgia Polkovniki (პოლკოვნიკი)

•  People's Republic of China Shang Xiao
•  Greece Syntagmatarchis (Συνταγματάρχης)
•  Hungary Ezredes
•  Iran Sarhang (سرهنگ)
•  Israel Aluf Mishne (אלוף משנה)

•  North Korea Sangchwa
•  Republic of Korea Taeryong

•  Republic of China (Taiwan) Shang Hsiao

•  Thailand Nai Phan (TH: นายพัน) Chief of 1,000
  • Phan Ek (TH: พันเอก) First of 1,000: Colonel
  • Phan Tho (TH: พันโท) Second of 1,000: Lieutenant colonel

•  Turkey Albay
•  Viet Nam Đại tá
•  Egypt عقيد Aqid (Egypt and most Arab League member countries)

Gallery[link]

Army colonels[link]

• Australian-Army-COL.gif

  Australia

• 

  Belgium

• Coronel-Brazil.gif

  Brazil (Coronel)

• Army slip-on Col.png

  Canada

• 

  Chile (Coronel)

• 

  Colombia

• 

  Finland (Eversti)

• 

  Germany (Oberst Bundeswehr

• 

  Greece (Syntagmatarchis)

• 

  Indian Army

• IE-Army-OF5.png

  Republic of Ireland

• 

  Italy (Colonnello)

• 

  Netherlands (Kolonel)

• Colonel Pak Army.jpg

  Pakistan

• Rank insignia of pułkownik of the Army of Poland.svg

  Poland (Pułkownik)

• 

  Portugal (Coronel)

• ROCA-COL.jpg

  ROC (Taiwan)(Shang Xiao)

• 

  Romania

• 

  Soviet Union (Polkovnik / Полковник)

• SL-Army-OF5 Colonel.PNG

  Sri Lanka

• 

  Sweden (Överste)

• 

  Thailand

• 

  United States

Air force colonels[link]

• 

  Belgium

• 

  Canada

• 

  Chile (Coronel)

• 

  Denmark (Oberst)

• 

  France

• 

  Germany (Oberst)

• 

  Italy (Colonnello)

• 

  Netherlands (Kolonel)

• 

  Poland (Pułkownik)

• 

  Spain (Coronel)

• 

  United States

Colonel as highest ranking officer[link]

Some military forces have a colonel as their highest ranking officer, with no 'general' ranks, and no superior authority (except, perhaps, the head of state as a titular commander-in-chief) other than the respective national government. Examples include the following (arranged alphabetically by country name):

• Antigua and Barbuda (170 personnel)
• Benin (4,500 personnel)
• Costa Rica (about 8,000 personnel)
• Gambia (1,900 personnel)
• Iceland (100 personnel, employed only for peacekeeping duties)
• Libya ( Commands all the Armed Forces -Muammar Gaddafi (Until 2011)
• Monaco (two branches, with a total of about 250 personnel)
• Niger (8,000 personnel)
• Suriname (1,800 personnel)
• Vatican City State (135 personnel - the Swiss Guard)

Rank insignia for a colonel in several nations which have no higher military rank.
Iceland	Monaco		Vatican City
	Colonel CCP	Colonel CSP
50px	50px	50px	50px

Other uses of colonel ranks[link]

The term colonel is also used as a title for auctioneers in the United States; there are a variety of theories or folk etymologies to explain the use of the term.^[4] One of these is the claim that during the American Civil War goods seized by armies were sold at auction by the colonel of the division.^[5]

See also[link]

• List of comparative military ranks

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Keegan, John; & Wheatcroft, Andrew (1996). Who's Who in Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day. London: Routledge.

Notes[link]

Harland "Colonel" Sanders
200px
Born	(1890-09-09)September 9, 1890 Henryville, Indiana, U.S.
Died	December 16, 1980(1980-12-16) (aged 90) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	School dropout[1]
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Religion	Disciples of Christ
Spouse	Josephine King (divorced) Claudia Price
Children	Harland David Sanders, Jr. Margaret Sanders Mildred Sanders Ruggles
Parents	Wilbur David Sanders Margaret Ann Sanders (née Dunlevy)[2]
Signature

Harland David "Colonel" Sanders (September 9, 1890 – December 16, 1980) was an American fast food businessman who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant chain. His image remains iconic in KFC promotions, and a foundation he established in his later years aids charities and funds scholarships with more than a million dollars in grants a year.

Early life and career[link]

Sanders was born to a Presbyterian family in Henryville, Indiana. His father, Wilbur David Sanders, died when Harland was six years old, and, since his mother worked, he was required to cook for his family. He dropped out of school in seventh grade. When his mother remarried, he ran away from home because his stepfather beat him.^{[citation needed]} Sanders falsified his date of birth and enlisted in the United States Army at the age of sixteen, completing his entire service commitment in Cuba.^[3] During his early years, Sanders held many jobs, including: steamboat pilot, insurance salesman, railroad fireman and farmer.^[4] He had a son, Harland, Jr., who died at an early age, and two daughters, Margaret Sanders and Mildred Sanders Ruggles.^[5][6]

Harland Sanders at age 20

In 1929 Sanders opened a service station in Corbin, Kentucky where he cooked chicken dishes and other meals for customers. Since he did not have a restaurant, he served customers in his adjacent living quarters. His local popularity grew, and Sanders moved to a motel and 142 seat restaurant, later Harland Sanders Café and Museum. Over the next nine years he developed his "secret recipe" for frying chicken in a pressure fryer that cooked the chicken much faster than pan frying.

Sanders was given the honorary title "Kentucky Colonel" in 1935 by Governor Ruby Laffoon. He was "re-commissioned" in 1950 by Governor Lawrence Wetherby.^[7]

Around 1950, Sanders began developing his distinctive appearance, growing his trademark mustache and goatee and donning a white suit and string tie.^[7] He never wore anything else in public during the last 20 years of his life, using a heavy wool suit in the winter and a light cotton suit in the summer.^[4]

At age 65, Sanders' store having failed^[4] due to the new Interstate 75 reducing his restaurant's customer traffic, he took $105 from his first Social Security check and began visiting potential franchisees.^[8]

The restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky where Colonel Sanders developed Kentucky Fried Chicken

The franchise approach was successful, and less than ten years later (in 1964) Sanders sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken corporation for $2 million to a partnership of Kentucky businessmen headed by John Y. Brown, Jr. The deal did not include the Canadian operations. In 1965 Sanders moved to Mississauga, Ontario to oversee his Canadian franchises and continued to collect franchise and appearance fees there and appearance fees in the U.S. (He was locally active. For example, his 80th birthday was held at the Inn on the Park in North York, Ontario, hosted by Jerry Lewis as a Canadian Muscular Dystrophy Association fundraiser.)^[9] In 1973, he sued Heublein Inc. — then parent company of Kentucky Fried Chicken — over alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop. In 1975, Heublein Inc. unsuccessfully sued Sanders for libel after he publicly referred to their gravy as "sludge" that tasted like "wallpaper paste".^[10]

Death and legacy[link]

Sanders later used his stockholdings to create the Colonel Harland Sanders Trust and Colonel Harland Sanders Charitable Organization, which used the proceeds to aid charities and fund scholarships. His trusts continue to donate money to groups like the Trillium Health Care Centre; a wing of their building specializes in women's and children's care and has been named after him.^[11] The Sidney, British Columbia based foundation granted over $1,000,000 in 2007, according to its 2007 tax return.^[12]

Sanders died in Louisville, Kentucky, of pneumonia on December 16, 1980.^[13][14] He had been diagnosed with acute leukemia the previous June.^[5] His body lay in state in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol; after a funeral service at the Southern Baptist Seminary Chapel attended by more than 1,000 people. He was buried in his characteristic white suit and black western string tie in Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.

Gravesite of Harland Sanders

Since his death, Sanders has been portrayed by voice actors in Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials in radio and an animated version of him has been used for television commercials.

A 1982 episode of Little House on the Prairie ("Wave of the Future") paid tribute to KFC by featuring a character implied to be Col. Sanders (portrayed by John Roberts) offering Mrs. Olson a fried chicken franchise. For legal reasons, this character was listed in the credits as "Bearded Man".

Sanders was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 2000.

The Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball league has developed an urban legend of the "Curse of the Colonel". A statue of Colonel Sanders was thrown into the river and lost during a 1985 fan celebration, and (according to the legend) the "curse" has caused Japan's Hanshin Tigers to perform poorly since the incident.^[15]

A manuscript of a book on cooking, which Sanders apparently wrote in the mid-1960s, has been found in KFC archives. It includes some cooking recipes from Sanders as well as stories. KFC plans to try some of the recipes, and to offer the book online.^[16]

References[link]

Notes

Further reading

• Pearce, John, The Colonel (1982) ISBN 0-385-18122-1
• Kleber, John J. et al. (1992). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0. 
• Encyclopedia of Kentucky. New York, New York: Somerset Publishers. 1987. pp. 185–186. ISBN 0-403-09981-1. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Harland Sanders

Wikinews has related news: Colonel Sanders statue lost in 1985 recovered from river in Japan

• Kentucky Fried Chicken
• Harland "Colonel" Sanders at Find a Grave
• CBC Archives CBC Radio talks with Colonel Sanders about Canadian food and cooking (from 1957).
• Harland Sanders Café and Museum, Corbin, KY
• FBI file on "Colonel" Sanders
• Sanders on What's My Line? when he was unknown nationally
• Colonel Sanders at the Internet Movie Database

Lawrence B. "Larry" Wilkerson (born 15 June 1945) is a retired United States Army Colonel and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. Wilkerson has criticized many aspects of the Iraq War, including his own preparation of Powell's presentation to the UN.

Education and military service[link]

Wilkerson was born in Gaffney, South Carolina. After three years of studying philosophy and English literature at Bucknell University, Wilkerson dropped out in 1966 and volunteered to serve in the Vietnam War. He told the Washington Post: "I felt an obligation because my dad had fought, and I thought that was kind of your duty."^[1]

Wilkerson arrived as an Army officer piloting an OH-6A Cayuse observation helicopter and logged about 1100 combat hours over a year. He flew low and slow through Vietnam, and was involved in one incident in which he says he prevented a war crime by purposely placing his helicopter between a position that was full of civilians, and another helicopter that wanted to launch an attack on the position. He also had many vocal disagreements with his superiors and his own gunner crew over free-fire zones, including an incident in which one of his crew shot a wagon that wound up having a little girl inside of it.^[2] He went on to Airborne School and Ranger School before receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and graduate degrees in international relations and national security. He attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and later returned there to teach. He later served as deputy director of the Marine Corps War College at Quantico.

Wilkerson spent some years in the United States Navy's Pacific Command in South Korea, Japan and Hawaii, where he was well regarded by his superiors. These recommendations led in early 1989 to a successful interview to become the assistant to Colin Powell, who was then finishing his stint as National Security Advisor in the Reagan administration and moving to a position in the United States Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson. He continued this supporting role as Powell became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff through the Gulf War, following Powell into civilian life and then back into public service when President George W. Bush appointed Powell Secretary of State.

Wilkerson was responsible for a review of information from the Central Intelligence Agency that was used to prepare Powell for his February 2003 presentation to the United Nations Security Council. His failure to realize that the evidence was faulty has been attributed on the limited time (only one week) that he had to review the data. The subsequent developments led Wilkerson to become disillusioned: "Combine the detainee abuse issue with the ineptitude of post-invasion planning for Iraq, wrap both in this blanket of secretive decision-making...and you get the overall reason for my speaking out."^[1]

Post-government statements[link]

Since his retirement from the public sector Wilkerson has on several occasions spoken out against what he perceives as the poor planning and execution of the Iraq War as well as the global politics leading up to and following it. In particular he has denounced the decision-making process of the Bush Administration and Vice President Dick Cheney's and Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld's part in it.

Treatment of detainees in Iraq[link]

Wilkerson made comments in November 2005 to the effect that the Vice President had decided that the Third Geneva Convention (regarding treatment of POWs) would not apply to "al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda look-alike detainees"^[3] and that the February 2002 White House memorandum regarding the "Humane Treatment of Taliban and al Qaeda Detainees" contained a loophole designed to avoid applying the Geneva convention to the detainees. According to Wilkerson, the phrase "the detainees (should) be treated humanely and, to the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity, in a manner consistent with the principles of Geneva"^[4] was a way to appear to play by the rules while in reality, the "military necessities" would always overrule concerns about the plight of the detainees.^[3] Wilkerson said that this was result of Cheney and Rumsfeld working in collaboration to undermine the standard decision-making process of the White House (which included his superior, Colin Powell).

Iraq war intelligence was "a hoax"[link]

During an October 19, 2005 speech at the New America Foundation, Wilkerson criticized the intelligence community which compiled the Iraq War intelligence.

In a 2006 interview Wilkerson said that the speech Powell made before the United Nations on February 5, 2003—which laid out a case for war with Iraq—included falsehoods of which Powell had never been made aware. He said, "My participation in that presentation at the UN constitutes the lowest point in my professional life. I participated in a hoax on the American people, the international community and the United Nations Security Council."^[6] Wilkerson said in 2011 that his preparing of the presentation was "probably the biggest mistake of my life", he regrets it, and that he regrets not resigning over it.^[7]

He stated in the 2006 interview that neither CIA Director George Tenet nor the CIA analysts that gave Powell information on mobile biological laboratories explained that there were disputes about the reliability of the informants who had supplied the information—information which was used in the speech.

Wilkerson also agreed with the interviewer that Cheney's frequent trips to the CIA would have brought "undue influence" on the agency. When asked if Cheney was "the kind of guy who could lean on somebody" he responded, "Absolutely. And be just as quiet and taciturn about it as-- he-- as he leaned on 'em. As he leaned on the Congress recently-- in the-- torture issue."

Wilkerson stood by his earlier description of Cheney and Rumsfeld as having formed a cabal to hijack the decision-making process: "I'm worried and I would rather have the discussion and debate in the process we've designed than I would a diktat from a dumb strongman... I'd prefer to see the squabble of democracy to the efficiency of dictators."

An Iranian overture, 2003[link]

Wilkerson said in an interview on BBC Newsnight, January 17, 2007, that an Iranian offer to help stabilise Iraq after the American invasion, was positively received at the State Department, yet turned down by Dick Cheney.^[8][9] The reported offer consisted of help in stabilizing Iraq, cutting ties with Hezbollah and greater transparency in its nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions and dismantling the Mujahedeen-e Khalq, an organisation working to overthrow the Iranian government. When this offer was made, numerous middle-east experts were warning of the coming shift in power in Iran toward the right-wing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who would assume power shortly thereafter.

Lack of congressional oversight[link]

Wilkerson is one of the people interviewed in the 2007 documentary film No End in Sight, a film that is very critical of the way the occupation of Iraq was handled in the spring of 2003.

Proposes impeachment[link]

".... You compare Bill Clinton's peccadilloes for which he was impeached to George Bush's high crimes and misdemeanors or Dick Cheney's high crimes and misdemeanors, and I think they pale in significance." "Powell's Chief of Staff Proposes Impeachment". afterdowningstreet.org. 10 May 2007. http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/22349.  "War Accountability in the US". onpointradio.org. 10 May 2007. http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2007/05/20070510_a_main.asp. 

Commentary on the documentary "Why We Fight"[link]

Wilkerson did a full-length audio commentary for the documentary Why We Fight. This film won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.^[10]

In April 2007, Wilkerson was featured in VPRO's Tegenlicht Dutch documentary The Israel Lobby. He said that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was highly influential in the Bush Administration's decision to go to war in Iraq. He also cited, as to the extent of their influence, an occasion in which he was threatened with censure^{[citation needed]} when he criticized Israel in a lecture he was giving.

Guantanamo continues to hold innocent men[link]

The Associated Press reports that on March 16, 2009, Wilkerson wrote on The Washington Note that he knew from briefings as a Bush administration official that it was soon recognized that some of the captives were innocent.^[11][12] According to the Associated Press summary, Wilkerson said the Bush administration was willing to continue to detain innocent men who might nevertheless be aware of useful information about the Afghanistan "mosaic":

"It did not matter if a detainee were innocent. Indeed, because he lived in Afghanistan and was captured on or near the battle area, he must know something of importance." "...sufficient information about a village, a region, or a group of individuals, that dots could be connected and terrorists or their plots could be identified."

Wilkerson stated that Guantanamo continues to hold innocent men.^[11] Wilkerson said that he felt compelled to come forward after hearing former Vice President Dick Cheney state that President Barack Obama's plans to close Guantanamo made the public less safe.^[13]

Commander Jeffrey Gordon, a Guantanamo spokesman, declined to comment on Wilkerson's specific observations.^[11] According to an Associated Press paraphrase of Gordon's statement, he said that, "dealing with foreign fighters from a wide variety of countries in a wartime setting was a complex process."

Politics and Personal Life[link]

In September 2006 in a conference call Wilkerson expressed support for Wesley Clark and Anthony Zinni. He also endorsed Jim Webb against incumbent George Allen in the 2006 U.S. Senate election in Virginia.^[14]

Wilkerson is a visiting professor at the College of William & Mary, teaching courses on U.S. national security. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Honors Program at the George Washington University, teaching a course named "National Security Decision Making." He and his wife Barbara have two children. His son is an Air Force navigator while his daughter was in the Army but has since returned to civilian life.

Wilkerson also heads the Colin Powell Leadership Club, a group of MacFarland middle school students in Washington, D.C.

See also[link]

United States Army portal

References[link]

External links[link]

• Department of State Biography: Lawrence B. Wilkerson, November 28, 2003.
• SourceWatch profile of Lawrence Wilkerson
• "Colonel Finally Saw Whites of Their Eyes", Dana Milbank, The Washington Post, 20 October 2005
• "War is Not About Truth, Justice and the American Way", interview with The Real News
• Transcript of Wilkerson's speech at the New America Foundation, Washington Note Archives, October 19, 2005.
• Lawrence Wilkerson. "The White House Cabal", Los Angeles Times, October 25, 2005.
• Transcript of Wilkerson interview, BBC Today program, 29 November 2005
• Interview with Lawrence Wilkerson: "A Leaderless, Directionless Superpower", Der Spiegel, December 6, 2005
• "Breaking Ranks", The Washington Post, 19 January 2006
• Transcript of Wilkerson Interview, PBS NOW (series), "Iraq Pre-War Intelligence," February 3, 2006. "... I'd prefer to see the squabble of democracy to the efficiency of dictators."
• "They Have Stolen My Party and I Want it Back", blog piece, The Washington Note, 22 March 2006
• http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/26/wilkerson-vp/
• Official website of the "Why We Fight" documentary from 2005. The DVD released on June 27, 2005, includes a commentary by Col. Wilkerson.
• Interview where Colonel Wilkerson gives examples of Cheney and Rumsfeld's influence., National Public Radio, November 3, 2005.
• Top U.S. officials working for Israel, Antiwar.com, 4 July 2010.